Well, howdy stranger! It's so nice to see you! Now, you inquired about my thoughts on Eyes Open and I would say that I'm still formulating them. It's a natural progression from Final Straw, perhaps too natural; I miss some of the pissyness from that album. It's less angry and more apologetic. I'm not used to Gary apologising. It's leaps and bounds better than Songs for Polar Bears and it's not quite as hard as When It's All Over.... I like what Gary's doing, and I can see the hand and skill of the new producer they've acquired since leaving Jeepster (the company that produced their first two albums). The songs themselves are much more fleshed out, but there's something that's missing for me from Eyes Open, and I don't know if it's because there's been a lot more quality stuff lately (Gnarls, the new Gomez, KT, the Kaisers) and it's not getting as much attention as it might otherwise, or if it's truly lacking something. I love 'It's Beginning to Get to Me' and 'Hands Open' but I'm not a fan of Martha Wainwright so 'Set Fire to the Third Bar' just throws me off.